In this report...

One hundred and thirteen youth learned about Lewis and Clark's landmark expedition at the 2007 4-H Wilderness Day held on July 11th at Lowden Memorial State Park in Oregon. This annual event was open to all youth, ages 5-12 years old.

Wilderness Day allowed youth to learn about the challenges and life that Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery experienced as they explored the Louisiana Purchase. Youth traveled to various stations learning about many aspects of Lewis and Clark's experience. They were introduced to the supplies needed for such a trip; making candles on the trail; types of boats used for traveling the rivers; staying healthy on the trail; meeting Sacagawea; using a compass; discovering new animals and journaling their discoveries; meeting the corps; and the results of the trip.

All of the participants also created a journal, in which they wrote about the exciting information that they gained at each station, just as Lewis and Clark wrote in their journal about their experiences. At the end of the day participants had several of their own creations to take home including the journal they created throughout the day, a dream catcher or a miniature canoe, and a candle that they made.

The stations that the youth participated in at Wilderness Day were taught by 4-H volunteers, Extension staff and other professionals.

Approximately 1,282 4-H project exhibits and 750 animals were showcased by Ogle County's community club 4-H members during the Ogle County Fair on August 1-5.

The 4-H Fair is held to allow youth the opportunity to exhibit projects that have resulted from in-depth yearlong studies of areas that interest them. As part of the exhibition, non-animal exhibitors meet one-on-one with project judges to receive feedback about their products and gather ideas for future project expansion.

Animal judging tests 4-Her's abilities to produce, maintain, and select healthy animals with excellent breeding and market potential. Animal showmanship classes provide 4-Hers with the opportunities to develop and refine their animal presentation skills.

Beyond the competition and learning, the Ogle County 4-H Fair is a celebration! It marks the end of a year of youth development, club and county activities and community service, new friendships, and family building.

All general exhibits at the 4-H Fair are conferenced judged. What does this exactly mean? This means that the 4-Hers who created them, talk with a judge one-on-one for about 5 minutes each. During these visits, the judge has the opportunity to find out what 4-Hers learned during their project studies and provide them with ideas for future project expansion.

Conference judging is a great way for 4-Hers to gain experience in sharing the knowledge that they have gained over the year about their 4-H project. The judges are able to find out exactly what was done in developing the project, any problems that may have occurred, or interesting facts that the 4-Hers may have learned in the process.